


What Transpires Between the Agent of Justice and the Medieval Cosplay-wearing Swordsman

by clae



Category: Another Eden (Video Game)
Genre: Cetie and Aldo don't actually appear until later, M/M, Not Beta Read, minor original characters, this is more of a fic of how others see them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:33:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26375020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clae/pseuds/clae
Summary: It is not much of a surprise that being an accomplished agent of COA, Cetie has a lot of people who harbor interest in him for one reason or another - secret admirers, members of shady organizations, criminals... you name it.So when rumors surface that he has been seen hanging around with this certain guy who walks around the streets of Elzion wearing medieval cosplay outfit lately, it doesn't take much for the rumors to spread into the wildest directions. For better or worse.(Or, a series of unconnected one-shots on multiple outsiders' point of view regarding Cetie and Aldo's relationship.)
Relationships: Cetie/Aldo (Another Eden)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 29





	1. Lunchtime Gossip of the Agents

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry for the silly and wordy title, but I hope it fits the tone I intended for the fic.
> 
> This is something of a follow-up to the illustration I drew [here](https://twitter.com/exclaebur/status/1298359033175224320) because... really, the mental image of Cetie and Aldo as crime-fighting duo just won't leave my head. Also, I'm making my own food here - there don't seem to be many Cetie/Aldo fanworks in both sides of the cluster even though I've seen quite a number of their shippers lurking around, so there I go. This was planned as a single chapter but my writing has gone out of hand so... I'll post this in smaller chapters gradually.
> 
> Also yes, in my headcanon Cetie has his own fan club. I mean, if he has people in the theater minigame who see him playing Papa not just for his performance in the theater, nothing's stopping him from having his own group of admirers in his home era... right?
> 
> I haven't gotten Cetie's Another Style, and I may update this fic to match the character quest if I ever get lucky. However, this fic will contain spoilers related to Cetie's third character quest, so consider yourself warned.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During lunchtime in a certain diner in Elzion Gamma District, a group of COA agents were gossiping about a certain blond-haired agent among their ranks and the strange young man wearing outfit from medieval era that had been seen hanging around with him lately.
> 
> Somehow, none of their information made sense.

"So, what do you find about that medieval-cosplaying guy?"

The diner located in the heart of Elzion's northern Gamma district had always been full of people during lunchtime, which was unsurprising considering its strategic location in the middle of governmental offices and some small schools. Today, though, it seemed to be slightly more packed than usual, thanks to the group of... ahem, _lively_ people currently gathering around a certain table in the corner. A rather large terminal was sitting above the table, operated by a serious-looking young man with glasses while the rest of the group were watching.

Judging from their attires, it was safe to say that these people were affiliated to COA in some way. Again, unsurprising - some of the units had their base in the area, after all, so it wasn't so out of ordinary that their agents would be having their lunch break here.

"Not much - at least not in Elzion's database anyway." The bespectacled young man replied almost disappointedly, his fingers were still glued to the terminal as he was haphazardly arranging the information he had found on the screen. "All we know is that he has guest pass to travel in Theta and Gamma Districts - oh, and IDA too, weirdly enough, but nothing else came up. No info on where he came from, his background, why he is here... nothing."

One of the girls in the group wrinkled her forehead in confusion.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing. Though...", the young man paused his typing and began musing, "wasn't he in the news some time ago? When word about Galliard's defeat broke out? With that blacksmith's daughter?"

"Now that you mention it...", another person - a rather lively-looking female agent with short hair - added, "...yeah, I've seen him around before. Doesn't seem like a bad guy - I mean, he was running around taking care of cats and helping people out, and he even plays tag with my little brother and his friends. But...", she proceeded to shake her head, "how is he connected to Agent Cetie anyway?"

Silence. The group proceeded to look at each other in confusion as they tried to formulate some sort of theory that could make sense in their heads, then back to the terminal in front of them, which was now showing various images of a certain blond-haired man in sharp-looking white-and-red suit not unlike theirs. Also depicted in the pictures was another man with dark curly hair, wearing some sort of strange clothes those were... _very_ outdated, to say the least.

"Is he from EGPD, perhaps?"

"Are ya' serious? Him, with those outdated clothes?" Another woman chimed in, looking at the man who just spoke as if he had just said something utterly stupid. "Ya' think those boring-looking people over there would let their officers to wear that kind of thing all day on duty?"

The chatter didn't seem to leave very good impression on the group, as some other visitors were now giving them rather judgmental look before returning to their meals once again. The group couldn't care less, though, as they continued to immerse themselves in their so-called investigation.

"...Yeah, don't think so. But if he's not, then who is he?"

"A childhood friend, perhaps?"

"Where the hell did that come from?"

Such (questionable) conversation had become a routine for this certain group of COA agents lately, especially the talk about the blond-haired agent known by the name of Cetie. He was no celebrity in the traditional sense, but he had built quite a reputation among the COA ranks and civilians alike after solving particularly difficult cases for them from time to time. It also helped that he was good-looking and rather gentlemanly too, which was probably why he became popular in the first place.

It wasn't so much of a stretch to say that at least half of the people joining in this, er, investigation were part of his group of admirers.

Well, at least he made a good influence on new recruits through that work ethic of his. This group of gossipy agents, on the other hand...

"Wait, maybe we should try looking about how they met instead? I mean... they just kinda started to hang around together one day, didn't they?"

"Now that you mention it... yeah. Maybe we can find more about this guy from there."

As it was, though, more pieces of puzzle kept piling up before the group of agents, yet they hadn't come any closer to any way of solving them. Honestly, this was even more troublesome than tracking down some dirty crime syndicate.

Agent Cetie was a very private person - that didn't come as a surprise considering his background. The few connections they were aware of also didn't seem to fit straight into the "friend" category in the conventional sense, either. All of the people they had observed so far were connected to him in strictly professional capacity, and they couldn't quite name people who could be considered close friends to the blond-haired agent.

Well, except for that stuck-up Inspector Renri, perhaps. Still, even with that certain definition of "friend", the two seemed to have plenty of their moments of belligerence with each other - you know, difference of principles and all. Not the kind of straightforward friendship they pictured.

Still, his mysteriousness was exactly why he garnered quite a reputation among them. After all, what's more alluring than the charm of a handsome, gentlemanly, yet _enigmatic_ elite agent?

In those photos, though, Agent Cetie looked... different.

One thing they noticed from the photos was that Agent Cetie seemed to be much more relaxed than his usual appearance would let on. He was happily chatting with the other man with that strange getup in their photos together, a contrast to his usual polite yet guarded mannerisms or his occasional bickering with that certain inspector. He even seemed to be far more open about his work towards the other man, if those photos from the latest cases were anything to go by.

Honestly, their closeness was almost enviable. And quite worrisome, perhaps - what if some info those weren't meant for public were to leak out?

  
"Perhaps he just happened to make a good friend?"

"That doesn't explain how that weirdo can be allowed to be in the crime scenes every time Agent Cetie is on the case. I mean, if he's part of us or the EGPD, I can see it, but he's clearly not."

"A secret agent working under the Administrator, maybe? Like that Limit Breaker lady?"

"Ya think a secret agent will gladly paint a mark over their head that will make them stand out?"

Silence.

And that was not the end of the puzzle.

What was bewildering them the most, though, just how _completely unfazed_ Agent Cetie was while hanging around with this guy who looked like to come straight from another century. There was no judging look or any signs of discomfort whatsoever - he seemed to let the peculiar young man to tag along with him as if it was completely normal. When they tried to inquire him, Agent Cetie would only give vague responses along the line of "we met during a travel and help each other out since" or "you won't believe my answer even if I told you".

Yeah, totally not suspicious, all right.

"Could it be..."

The group turned around when one of the younger agents - the most naive and gullible young girl who recently joined them - broke the silence among them and began looking like she was trying to think of an answer.

"Yeah?"

Another silence. Then, out of nowhere, the young girl stood from her seat and slammed the palm of her left hand with the other hand as if she had just received a revelation.

"Could it be that Agent Cetie secretly likes cosplaying...?"

Somewhere in the other side of the diner, a young man behind reception desk was watching the conversation in the table of the corner with a huge sigh, clearly sympathizing at the group who was now basically performing the collective figurative face-palm at the utterly outlandish answer. He wasn't certain of the full context of the conversation and he sure as hell didn't care, but being somewhat familiar with the subject of the group's conservation, he felt like he needed some sort of purifier to clear his head off the mental image surfacing from the young agent's conclusion.

Probably lots of them too, since it didn't seem like they would drop the topic from their off-work investigation soon.


	2. Small Details

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The technician of COA's R&D division received particular request from Cetie to reinforce Retro's spare bodies. At first she wondered why, but watching the the white pod's interactions with this strange sword-bearing man that had been seen accompanying the agent lately was more than enough of an answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Considering how often Retro gets bullied by Clock and his purpose basically being detonated into Cetie's opponents in extreme situations, I imagine not even cats have respect for Retro. I'm sorry, Retro. xD;
> 
> On another note, the Lost Tome episode... kinda threw a wrench to my initial plan for this fic with how Cetie and Hardy are connected. I'd like to write something in later chapter based on the events of the episode, but I guess I'll hold it off until I get either Hardy or Cetie's AS.

"...You want me to cat-proof Retro's spare units. Is that what you're saying?"

The presence of agents in the floor belonging to R&D division of COA was not an unusual sight for the researchers and technicians working there, and that included the presence of Agent Cetie as one of the users of their research products. Usually, though, everyone in this certain floor of COA's headquarters tended to be focused in their own work, so the floor was more often filled with the sound of machines and computer units rather than voices of its inhabitants most of the time.

When one of the usually soft-spoken technicians there suddenly raised her voice as she uttered the aforementioned question in bewilderment, though, it ended up distracting some people working there and drew quite a bit of their attention. There, Agent Cetie was standing in front of the desk belonging to the technician, seemingly unbothered by several pairs of eyes of those who were low-key curious at what was that all about.

"More or less. Is it too much of a trouble?"

The young technician couldn't help but to feel awkward at the distraction she inadvertently caused, but seeing how utterly calm the agent was in front of her, she tried to pay no mind and focus at his inquiry.

"N-No, not at all! It's just... it isn't like you to ask something so, uh, mundane yet specific? Why so sudden?"

Upon seeing her bewilderment, Cetie merely gave a shrug and small sigh in response. His expression was unreadable as he was quickly formulating an answer that would at least _sound reasonable_ , which the technician didn't miss.

"Things happened. Retro has a habit of getting into trouble, so I'd rather avoid unfortunate accidents in the future."

"O-Oh, okay..."

That... didn't explain what exactly happened, of course. This being the usually no-nonsense Agent Cetie though, the technician decided to buy it anyway.

"Then, can you give details about what sort of upgrades to do? I'm not sure if we can do much with the existing units, but we can try to improve the design for the later models."

"Of course. Apologies for troubling you with such trivial request."

The rest of the conversation went rather slowly - it mostly consisted of Cetie and the technician trying to figure out the most feasible way to implement the agent's request. Eventually, they reached an agreement over the next steps for Retro's upgrades, and after finalizing the schedule for the expected testing over the upgrades, the agent soon excused himself and made his way to the waiting room located near the floor's elevator.

That was when the technician took notice of a young man in peculiar outfit lounging around in the waiting room, the agent's two pods were floating around him.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Aldo. Let's go."

The technician couldn't help but to raise her eyebrows as she was watching Cetie was talking to the unfamiliar young man and began making their way to the elevator. She had heard _stories_ of a certain young man wearing outdated clothes - red cape over blue shirt, ornamental shoulder guards and gauntlets, lugging around a huge sword - that had been seen together with the blond agent lately, but this was the first time she actually saw him. Behind them were the pair of pods usually accompanying Cetie - the black one following the agent and the white one following that unfamiliar young man, and... was that a cat?

Silence.

With her curiosity taking over her, the technician took a peek at the pair of colored pods again before they could disappear from her sight. She had heard that the white pod was certainly the friendlier one of the two, but she couldn't quite picture it as the type that would go around greeting everyone. It was supposed to be a combat model, after all, so being buddy-buddy with random people was not supposed to be part of its design.

"Did you hear, Aldo, I'm getting new body! Does it mean I will become more awesome?"

Watching how the white pod was interacting with that young man with red cape, though, got her thinking.

"Scrap metal, you're being embarrassing here. Keep it down, will you?"

"Ha, you're just jealous that you don't get upgrades! Watch me one-up you once I get my all-new body!"

Now, the pair of pods probably wouldn't appreciate being compared to everyone's average pets, but for convenience, let's consider them as such. The technician had been in charge for the more difficult maintenance routines involving the blond agent's pods, and while she had interacted with them from time to time and found herself amused at the pods' comedy routines, she wouldn't consider herself to be close to them on personal level. Consider herself something of a vet to them, to put it easily.

"H-Hey, what's your problem with me?! Aldooo, this furball is bullying me again!"

The way the peculiar young man was interacting with Retro, though, was akin to someone who had grown close enough to a pet owner that the latter's pets were not only tolerating him - they were _comfortable_ with him around. That white pod, in particular, seemed to be even livelier than usual while talking to that younger man, who was now half-panicking as he was trying to get the cat accompanying them from chasing Retro around.

...Wait, was he patting Retro just now?

As the group finally left the floor and disappeared from her field of view, the technician took notice of other residents of the floor, who apparently had been watching the whole commotion and had their eyes locked onto the elevator in the far corner of the floor. While some of their reactions ranged from seemingly annoyed to amused, some of the researchers and technicians alike seemed to be just as curious as she was regarding the pair and their... er, energetic companions.

"That man... that was the guy those agents were talking about the other day, right? Could it be..."

_...he is Agent Cetie's boyfriend? No, there seems to be more than that._

The technician shook her head as she found herself bewildered at the turn of events. She didn't paint Agent Cetie to be the type who would mix up personal and professional matters, so at the very least, she found it unlikely that he was _merely_ someone Agent Cetie was intimately involved with. There was also the fact that he was previously seen in the news involving Galliard and - if that data analyst guy was to be believed - seemed to be acquainted to the Administrator, which only added to the puzzle.

That, and Agent Cetie seemed to trust him so much.

Perhaps she should see what those agents had to say in their latest investigation update about that man. One thing that was certain, though, was that she now had the answer on _why_ Agent Cetie made that specific request about the whole cat-proofing in the first place.


	3. Macaron's True Rival?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In one early morning, Clock, Retro, and Macaron were discussing about their master and the swordsman who had been accompanying them in their adventures lately.
> 
> It quickly sprawled out of control, to say the least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Between working on thesis and writer's block, it took a while before I could come up with continuation that I can be happy about. Buuut now that I have both Cetie's Another Style AND Hardy, I feel obligated to continue this fic as soon as possible. So I decided to put the chapters those gave me roadblock on hold and wrote this ahead instead.
> 
> This chapter was not part of the initial plan for this fic, but after going through Cetie's Another Style quest, I suddenly had this urge to add the pods' perspective. Macaron seems to be fun to write too (even if her appearance in the canon is practically at the expense of others LMAO), so I decided to include her as well.
> 
> Just heads-up, while there is nothing explicit, there are some suggestive bits in this chapter. Also, while I made the relationship status to be more ambiguous in other chapters, here Cetie and Aldo are already in established relationship.
> 
> Also, I'm not sure about the pronoun to be used for Clock and Retro (unlike Macaron who is explicitly referred to with "she"). I always imagine Clock and Retro to be the type similar to "smart deadpan guy" and "dumb hyperactive guy" duo though.

As a city where people come and stay to find some peace from the normally hectic routine in Elzion Plate, morning in Nilva was ordinarily the quiet, peaceful time that its inhabitants enjoyed as they indulged themselves in the fresh air and the beauty of the small paradise.

Today, though, was not quite such morning as a high-pitched robotic yelling could be heard from one of the rooms in the Nilva Hotel. Had it not for the soundproofing system, the voice would probably have awakened the entire hotel.

"Cetie-boooy, it's morning already~. Rise and shine, honey. ♪"

Within one of the suites of the hotel were three robotic pods roughly the size of human head, lounging around in the living room of the suite without the supervision of their owner. All three of them belonged to a certain COA agent who was currently inhabiting the suite, with the high-pitched voice coming from a red pod going by the name of Macaron, who was now hovering in front of the door of their master's bedroom.

"Pipe down, will you? You're even noisier than the scrap metal." Another pod - a small black pod named Clock - responded as he was admonishing the red disc-shaped pod. "Also it's not like we have upcoming mission, cut it out already."

Finding himself offended, the last pod accompanying them - a white model named Retro - soon interjected, his arms twirling as if to make clear of his displeasure.

"Hey, don't you dare to compare me to her! At least I have some common sense to let Cetie rest!"

"Said the scrap metal who constantly embarrasses himself in front of the Administrator, but whatever." Clock responded by slightly moving his pair of arms to make gesture similar to what would be a shrug for humans. "Anyway, it's day off today, so let Cetie be. And if anything comes up, well... you said you're the superior one. Why don't you use those amazing specs of yours to actually help out?"

If robots could properly emote, it was clear that Macaron felt incensed by the challenge. However, she ultimately chose to let it slide and responded with a gesture similar to huffing instead.

"Psh, fine... as long as he doesn't oversleep. That'll ruin his handsome face, you know?"

Of all things one should expect when having companions as lively as Agent Cetie's robotic assistants, early-morning rackets were certainly one of those things. However, things seemed to have escalated further ever since Macaron (forcibly) joined them, so these days the pods' morning routines before receiving proper assignments from their master tended to consist of the black and white pair trying their best to keep their red-colored, er, rival in line. Even if it meant resorting to what would normally be meaningless chatter for the pods.

(Well, for Clock, at least. Retro was pretty much a walking waste of fuel, so the chatters were probably more in line for him.)

"Since we don't have anything from the Administrator, though...", said Retro as he was hovering across the room, "think we'll go on another adventure with Aldo and friends after this?"

"If Cetie wishes to, then I'm not against the idea." Clock replied curtly. "Wherever he goes, we follow. That's what we're for."

"Boo, you're no fun! Where is your sense of adventure?! But...", said Retro while twirling his arms once again, "it's good to see Cetie more relaxed since hanging around with Aldo, don'tcha think? Like...what do humans say for this? As if something weigh-y had been taken off from him?"

"Huh, color me surprised. I never pictured a scrap metal like you to be knowledgeable about such thing." Clock replied in deadpan tone, though his voice softened afterwards. "But you're right, he's never been in such good shape before. I'll say this whole time-traveling business has done him good."

"See? This is why you should be more excited!" Retro exclaimed as he was circling around the room. "Also, I can get to see more action too! See how those old-time monsters are no match for me!"

"If your comparison of combat feat is against those ancient monsters to make you look good, then you're still a scrap metal in the end."

"Hey! You have no right to say that when you can't even outrun a dinosaur without struggling!"

Macaron, having just rejoined her "Cetie-boy" just recently, couldn't help but to feel curious about this other person who had been accompanying the handsome agent since she saw him again.

"So", the red pod inquired almost cautiously, "does it mean this Aldo guy is someone special to Cetie-boy?"

"Of course he is! I mean—"

  
Before Retro could finish, however, the air soon went quiet as the three pods caught the sound of the bedroom door opening. Upon turning around, the three of them could see Cetie standing in front of the door, his expression was almost grumpy unlike his usually calm and collected self. Contrasting his tidy and sharp appearance during daytime, the agent was looking disheveled as his hair strands were all over the place and his sleeping robe was half falling from his shoulder.

"...What are you three making fuss about at this hour?"

Radio silence. The agent soon turned his attention to the three pods before him, his eyes were looking disapprovingly as he was scanning each of them.

"You know you're going to disturb guests in other rooms, don't you? Keep it down."

"Ah..." Retro immediately hovered down in apology as he was lowering his voice, "...sorry, Cetie. We're just talking about—"

The relative silence didn't for long, however, as Macaron suddenly jumped into the air and let out a high-pitched voice the moment her camera caught the sight of _something_ from beyond the door.

"C-C-C-Cetie-boy, w-what is this all about?!" The red pod spoke in flustered manner as she was flying around frantically. "Why are you and Aldo sharing a bed together?!?!?"

"Macaron...? Hey!!"

The blond agent found himself being assaulted by a headache as soon as the red pod was making a racket once again, which in turn prompted his usual pair of companions to follow suit as they were trying to calm her down. Of course he knew this was bound to happen, but it didn't make it any less troublesome to anticipate.

Of all things the prototype pod's amazing specs could do, _this_ was one thing she had to excel at the most? To keep track on the nature of his relationships?

"First that fake blonde hair, and now this guy with some weird giant sword! Just how many times do you plan to cheat on me?!?!"

"M-Macaron! Just what makes you think you're in some lovey-dovey relationship with Cetie?! You're a pod just like us!"

"I'm not some average pod like you two!! One of these days I will become prettier and—"

"Hmph, you might be the top of the line, but I didn't expect you to be the delusional kind—"

"Delusional, you say?! In no way my specs will allow me to have that kind of defect—"

Eventually, the ruckus became too much for Cetie that he had no choice but to raise his voice as he became increasingly annoyed at the antics unfolding before him.

"If you don't drop it now," Cetie's voice was now as piercing cold as his stare was as he found himself glaring at his three robotic assistants, "I'm sending all of you for extensive maintenance as soon as we get back. Am I clear?"

Whatever power was augmented in the blond agent's chilly voice, apparently it caused quite a drop in temperature of the room for the three pods to take the hint of their master's displeasure and cease the racket they were causing at once.

"O-okay... sorry, Cetie."

"...Understood. Ceasing conversation now."

"Hmph! Don't think I'll admit defeat to some average-looking artifact from the middle ages!"

Cetie let out a huge sigh before closing the door of the bedroom once again, leaving his three robotic assistants outside as he made his way back to the bed. Glancing at the curly-haired younger man who was still sleeping soundly like a cat under their previously shared blanket, the blond agent soon shook his head as he couldn't help but to feel guilty over the mess he had unintentionally dragged his partner into.

First Renri, and now Aldo. Aldo being Aldo, Cetie doubted whatever Macaron was planning to do next would result in as much awkwardness as the incident with Renri at the Macminal Museum investigation last time, and both of them knew better than to take the fawning of a disc-shaped pod seriously. Still, this was the prototype to Clock and Retro they were talking about - who knew what would happen if she ever decided to come up with some sort of mischief?

Another sigh. So much for the renowned peaceful morning of Nilva.

Whoever was responsible for the programming of Macaron's personality, the blond agent certainly had _a lot_ to say for them.

"...I'm sorry, Aldo. Guess I just caused you a long-lasting trouble."

Cetie meant the muttering to be directed solely to himself, but apparently he was a little too loud upon noticing the younger man had shifted from his sleeping position.

"Cetie? What's wrong...?"

The agent's face was previously sour at being awakened in such rude manner in such early morning. Watching his swordsman companion mumbling almost adorably in his half-asleep state, though, his expression soon softened.

"...Just those three robots being noisy as usual", said Cetie as he was lightly running his fingers through Aldo's messy hair. "Go back to sleep, Aldo, it's still early."

"'Mmkay..."

And back to sleep he went. As he was resting his head on the pillow beside the younger man's, the agent idly began formulating for some sort of _disaster mitigation_ in case the helpful yet troublesome red pod decided to act up.

He doubted it would work on Macaron the way it did with Retro, but perhaps he should try to see if Varuo and the local cats could be convinced to... distract his robotic assistants next time she ever decide to cause trouble. He probably would need to spend extra Git for some quality cat treats in exchange, but hey, it was worth a shot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Macaron, but my sympathies for Cetie and all other characters who will inevitably get into trouble because of her constant fawning lol. Especially Renri. Poor Renri.
> 
> Later chapters will be a lot less silly, but since this story is supposed to be collection of unconnected one-shots... if there are other characters' point-of-view you'd like to see, I may give it a try. No promises, though.


	4. A Day in the Gray Hound's Stakeout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Although his job in the Auction House was finished, Hardy couldn't help but to feel curious to find out more about the strange swordsman that helped the flower lady to win the certain ancient tome.
> 
> Especially after the certain stubborn COA agent gave him a particularly cold deathly stare on the moment he found out about the swordsman's involvement in his shenanigans just recently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The TL;DR of this chapter is "this time it's Hardy's turn to stalk on this pair". And yes, hello, I'm still trying to work on this fic, just that all of my energy went to drawing lately. And for some reasons, this chapter ended up twice longer than I had initially planned.
> 
> Takes place after "The Lost Tome and the Silver, Unfading Flower" under the scenario that the Dream Encounter with Hardy hasn't occurred at that point (that was what happened in my space-time/game LOL - I got him AFTER finishing the episode).
> 
> This chapter contains spoiler-y points from Hardy's third character quest and Cetie's Another Style character quest. If you do mind spoilers, I advise you to skip over this chapter.
> 
> Also, once again, happy second anniversary to the global version of Another Eden!

"Oh-ho, found 'em already, Gray? Know I can count on ya, buddy!"

A robotic-sounding howl reverberated through one of the streets of Elzion's Gamma District as a middle-aged man with dirty blond hair was crouching in front of a large robotic dog and giving it an affectionate pat, drawing the attention of the pedestrians passing through the bustling street. Usually, being located in the center of the district in such busy hour, most people wouldn't bother to pay any mind to their surroundings as they were crossing through the street, their heads too occupied with everything they had to catch up on as if their lives were depending on it. Which, for all intents and purposes, was pretty normal - with the sudden drop of performance in the Xeno Prisma units, everyone in the city had a lot of work on their plates to retain the normalcy of their lives.

And yet, with the sheer size of the robotic dog and the man's own, ahem, distinct appearance, it was inevitable that their interactions ended up catching the eyes of quite a number of people in the area anyway. Glancing at his surroundings, the man could see a few of them were narrowing their eyes and looking at him with displeasure, with some of the younger kids were hiding behind their parents as they were eyeing cautiously at him and his canine companion. A few of them were speaking among themselves, and if the communication gadget in their hands were any indication, it was clear that the man's presence raised their alarms although he was not actively harming them.

...Well, this was awkward. Did these people ever learn not to judge a book by its cover? Did they not see just how cute and smart his good ol' Gray was?

So trying to make himself looking as harmless as possible, the man let out a small sigh and tried to flash his best smile to the people whose attention he had stolen. With a dose of wink too, for extra points.

"...Ugh, what's his deal? Come on, let's move."

Apparently, the result was nowhere as charming as he had hoped himself to be, but it was enough to disperse the crowd of people who were eyeing suspiciously at him as they reacted with displeasure and began walking away.

The middle-aged man simply shrugged in response, looking almost disappointed that his allure didn't get through at all. Perhaps he should have picked something less flashy to wear, though it was not like the rest of his wardrobe was any less conspicuous anyway.

At any rate, it would be bad if one of them had decided to give EGPD a call simply from his (admittedly) suspicious appearance. So without wasting another second, he glanced at the robotic dog he affectionately dubbed as "Gray" as he began walking forward.

"Alright buddy, lead the way, will ya?"

* * *

Hardy. The Watchdog. The Gray Hound. Within the shadows lurking beneath the surface of Elzion, the middle-aged man with dirty blond hair had made himself rather infamous under such names in his battle to uphold the justice the people outside the light of Elzion never got the chance for. However, today, he didn't come out of the shadows and challenge the light of Elzion under any of those monikers.

Today, he was simply someone who was looking after the well-being of a family - albeit one who wouldn't appreciate his attention, sadly. That, and someone who was trying to fulfill his mundane curiosity on a certain individual that recently caught his attention.

Well, this seemingly mundane curiosity might contribute to said family's well-being anyway, so he should probably get to the bottom of it while he was at it.

Hardy's steps came into a halt the moment Gray stopped on its tracks, its sight was locked at a pair of men in the distance who were conversing with each other as they were walking to the opposite direction from the man and his robotic canine. Not far behind the man's subjects of observation were a pair of round-shaped pods -one black, one white - tailing the pair from behind, and a cat who was busy chasing around the white pod.

_Found them._

Hardy briefly raised his eyebrows as he was watching the pair from the distance, his attention was switching back and forth between one half of the pair and the other - a dark-haired young man with strangely outdated clothes and conspicuously huge sword known as Aldo and a blond-haired man with red and white suit known as Cetie, respectively. He had heard rumors that the two were associating themselves with each other a lot lately, but even after getting himself involved with the dark-haired man in the Auction House last time and getting fairly good glimpse of the man by himself _(almost too good-natured for his own good, something of a dimwit, something of a hope-bringer to those he is sticking his nose for despite it all)_ , Hardy was still having hard time picturing the two men actually being close to each other.

Especially Cetie. Cetie, his stubborn little brother. Considering how the Cardinal Vestige was operating and how Cetie himself was, never in Hardy's dreams he would imagine to see the day when that adoptive family of his was actually opening up - let alone becoming close enough to be considered friends - to someone.

Enough for said little brother to give him a deathly cold stare for the shenanigans he pulled on said someone, at that. And still let him get away out of consideration for that person despite his little brother's near-obsession to put him in jail, amazingly.

At any rate, regardless of how he viewed Aldo, the fact that the strange swordsman managed to break through the barrier Cetie had put up to keep himself and the others at certain distance intrigued Hardy nevertheless. He could count with his own fingers the number of people he considered close to his stubborn little brother on personal level, and even less for the people who could forge honest friendship with that boy. How could he not use this opportunity to learn about this new friend of his little brother?

Who knows, perhaps that kid might become crucial in his plans later on, Hardy thought to himself.

So after giving Gray an affectionate pat once again, the man began surveying his surroundings, trying to map the best path to follow the pair around without raising their alarms. Which, as it turned out, was more difficult than he had initially expected despite his expertise on avoiding the surveillance system of Elzion.

No, not because of the pair themselves noticing him, but because that four-legged furball accompanying them just wouldn't stop pulling all sorts of mischief to the white-colored pod and nearly put him within the pods' surveillance range by pure coincidence.

...Seriously, this was why he was much more of a dog person.

* * *

...Okay, now _that_ was interesting.

His usually distant little brother was actually hanging out with someone. _On occasion that did not seem to be related to his so-called work._

Situating himself on one of the empty benches in a certain street of Elzion's Gamma District, Hardy focused his sight on one of the windows of a fancy restaurant not far from where he was sitting, his mouth was idly sipping on the cheap coffee he had bought along the way while tailing the pair he was observing. Gray was sitting beside him, faithfully watching over his back while he was on his stakeout.

If the hearsays from some particularly chatty COA agents were to be believed, that place was a favorite place for his little brother to eat in. And for some reasons, he had been eating together with that sword-wielding kid often lately.

Apparently, it happened often enough that some of the agents with particularly vivid imagination thought that those two were going out with each other.

Hardy let out a muffled snort at the thought, partially from amusement, partially from disbelief.

Oh, he was fully aware at how _popular_ his little brother was. Still, the idea of that stubborn kid actually lowered his guard and allowed someone to become intimate with him felt so far-fetched and _absurd_ for him. So much, that Hardy would've passed without second thoughts any opportunity to bet on who would be lucky enough to be granted such amount of trust by that little brother of his.

Especially if that lucky person couldn't be any weirder than that sword-wielding boy who seemed to have jumped out straight from a place from hundreds of years ago.

The middle-aged man shook his head and proceeded to narrow his eyes as he was trying to get a better look at the pair beyond the diner's window, carefully placing himself so they wouldn't notice his presence. He could see the blond agent's face clearly, though he was having trouble on catching a glimpse of the dark-haired swordsman. Didn't matter - he could still infer what was happening from Cetie's face alone.

He was so focused on his subjects of observation that he failed to notice that he had stopped sipping on his drink for a while, his own expressions were slowly changing with curiosity the longer he continued his observation.

Polite yet guarded. When asked about their opinion about Agent Cetie, that was how quite a number of people would describe him. Sometimes, they would also say something about his eyes being filled with fierce determination despite his calm demeanor - the kind of determination that few people could match and inevitably put him in path of lone battle.

Considering how Cetie was constantly refusing Hardy's attempt to wrestle him away from Cardinal Vestige in his so-called pursuit of justice, the man could totally see where the remark came from. He was a determined kid, and had always been. For better or worse.

And yet, the image of Cetie that Hardy was seeing today was carrying no traces of such burden.

Warm - that was one way to describe the expression his little brother was having right now. He seemed to be genuinely looking forward to what the strange swordsman was about to say, and gave a face that hinted both exasperation and fondness when it became clear that sword-wielding kid had just said something stupid (must be something that flew over that boy's head regarding their outing together, Hardy dared to bet). His eyes were brimming with mirth - one that Hardy hadn't seen for a long time since they began drifting apart due to their increasingly differing interpretations of justice.

For a moment, seeing such lighthearted expression, it was almost easy for Hardy to forget that Cetie was still fighting his lone battle in Cardinal Vestige and COA alike, ultimately belonging to nowhere.

Hardy shook his head, letting out a snort as he was unconsciously forming a small smile on his face.

He was still having questions on _how_ that strange swordsman managed to tear down the wall surrounding that stubborn brother of his, but for now, it seemed that he didn't have to worry about that swordsman being a liability to his brother whatsoever. At the very least, Cetie was not completely alone.

...Had it not for the fact that said little brother was so hell-bent on arresting him, Hardy would've jumped out of his cover and barge in to give a brotherly hug.

"Hm...? Gray?"

Hardy was soon pulled out of his thoughts as a muffled robotic whining could be heard from his canine friend. Seeing the restlessness in the old cyborg dog's gestures, he turned to his targets of observation once again and noticed that they already stood up from their seats in the diner, with Cetie's expression looking particularly serious.

...Oh boy, had he been found out?

Hardy ruffled his gloved hand through his hair, nodding at his canine friend once again as he was preparing to make his exit from the area.

Before he could make his move, however, the man saw the pair were already exiting the dining place, nodding to each other before making their way opposite of where he was sitting.

Feeling curious, Hardy raised his eyebrows as he was trying to observe their disappearing figures.

They were running to the direction of the Industrial Ruins. Which could only mean it had something to do with whatever work was suddenly dumped on that little brother of his.

And it seemed that one of those hearsays the man had heard was true - that strange swordsman had been helping that brother of his despite not being affiliated to COA and EGPD alike. Talk about one hell of trust.

Hardy let out a huge sigh, recalling the events at the Auction House last time he was working with that swordsman.

So now he has _two_ goody-two-shoes to look after in case they got into trouble. Great.

Even with their contrasting intelligence, it seemed that the agent and swordsman pair had so many things in common that it was no surprise at all that they hit it off so well. Scarily so.

Shaking his head at the mental image of the impending trouble before him, the middle-aged man finally stood from the bench and took a look at his robotic dog once again.

"Don't think they'll need our assistance anyway, but what do you say, Gray? Wanna take a little walk?"

* * *

By the time Hardy managed to track the agent and swordsman pair down to one of the inner sectors of Industrial Ruins, they had apparently finished whatever they came for. Surrounding them were foreign robot models Hardy was completely unfamiliar of, laying waste from their battle, no doubt.

Gotta admit, even without seeing the scuffle, Hardy was pretty impressed. The defunct robots seemed to be made of high-grade materials that his bullets would normally be having hard time to put a hole on, but the pair managed to fend off the threat despite one of them using clearly outdated weapon.

Guess he was starting to see why that sword-wielding kid was allowed to be on the case together with Cetie despite being an outsider.

Trying his best to stay in the shadows, Hardy decided to stick around a little longer and observe what was about to unfold next. With Gray helping to conceal their presence, he tried to move a little closer.

Apparently, the robotic remains were just as unfamiliar to the pair as much that they were to him. From beyond the shadows, he could see Cetie was frowning at the report given by the black pod accompanying him before turning his head to Aldo and stating almost disappointedly that they were probably facing an unfamiliar new threat and they needed more manpower to investigate, and that he would call reinforcements from COA to transport the robotic remains to the lab in Lambda District.

Which meant it was time for Hardy to make his leave, as curious as he was about those foreign robots. He couldn't afford to get caught just yet, after all, regardless of why he was there in the first place.

So after giving himself a light shrug, he turned to Gray once again before nodding and making a sign to note that they were leaving at once.

"Cetie, wait. It's faint, but I detected life signs from one of those robots."

Hardy soon froze on his tracks the moment he heard the declaration made by black pod. Cautiously, he turned back to check on the pair once again, both of them were already drawing their respective weapons once again in alert.

"...Clock, are you saying that the robot is still functioning?"

"No, I can confirm that you've shut down all of the robots." The black pod - Clock - clarified. "...Apologies for the ambiguity. What I mean is... there is someone trapped inside. I estimate it to be a child, judging from the size."

Unconsciously, Hardy clenched his jaw upon hearing the black pod's declaration, his fists were tightening as he could feel disgust was welling up within him. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and decided to continue observing his brother, who was clearly trying his best to keep himself collected.

"...How's their situation? And the other robots?"

"The child's weakening, but they can still make it." Clock replied before moving to hover above one of the defunct robots. "I've pinpointed the weak spots to break the frame safely without harming the child. I don't sense any life signs from the others, so you can focus on the rescue."

"That's all I need to know." Cetie nodded before turning to his sword-wielding partner, his bolt-shaped lance was tightly gripped in his hand. "Aldo, help me out. Clock, watch the vital signs. Retro, scout ahead to the nearest medical facility and clear the way for us."

"R-Right!"

"On it! Be careful, you two!"

Hardy was standing still as he was watching the pair from the darkness, his expression was unreadable. A part of him was contemplating to throw all of this game of stealth out of window and jumped into their aid, but he knew all too well that too many things still remained unanswered regarding this mess that getting himself caught now was clearly not worth risking for in the long run.

"Cetie, I got him out! But these pipes--"

"It's fine, I'll take over. Go check on Retro, Aldo, we'll catch up with you soon."

"...Got it!"

...His brother said something about the nearest medical facility, didn't he? Granted, this sector barely saw any damage to its facilities, but given how deserted this place had been, Hardy couldn't help but to wonder if they were still usable at all.

Well, only one way to find out. After all, this was the least he could do for both the poor kid and his brother.

With apologetic smile, the middle-aged man turned at his canine friend once again before making his way out of the area.

"Sorry for making you do so many works today, buddy, but can you help me check on something before we go?"

* * *

Hardy had expected that he wouldn't hear anything about the mess in the certain sector of Industrial Ruins any time soon. Still, the fact disappointed him all the same.

Although it was too early to draw his conclusions yet, his hunch was telling him that the an element of Cardinal Vestige had been involved somehow. All the more reason for him to bring the accursed organization down.

On the bright side, if his "network" was to be believed, the child that Cetie and Aldo rescued was at least physically better now, and Cetie had apparently taken it upon himself to ensure that the boy would get proper rehabilitation. Still, it had not solved the underlying problem.

The child was one of the fortunate ones to be rescued. However, countless people were still disappearing from the slums of Elzion every day without prior notice, their vanishing remained unnoticed by the light of the shining city. There was no telling how many of them had fallen victim to the injustices haunting them.

Well, no use mulling over what was not clear yet. The recent mess hadn't changed his ultimate goal to rescue Cetie from the Cardinal Vestige. And speaking of Cetie...

"So, Gray, whaddya think about that sword-wielding boy?"

A confident-sounding howl in response.

"You think so, huh? Heh, Cetie definitely wouldn't be amused if I tried to rope that boy again."

Still, perhaps getting Aldo involved would ultimately help both of them in the end. Hardy only cared about releasing Cetie from Cardinal Vestige's clutches, and the swordsman didn't seem the type who would just leave his little brother to shoulder his own problems by himself. No, if the Auction House incident was anything to go by, he should have learned by now that this guy _actively_ sought problems to be fixed.

Aldo might just be the key to break the impasse between him and that stubborn little brother of his. As for _how_ , well... Hardy would think about it along the way as he got to know better regarding the relationship of those pair of goody-two-shoes.

He simply hoped that for all his terrible luck when it came to gambling, the bet he was about to place on that swordsman would be the best one he ever made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, I'm not going to delve further into the "human resources to empower mechanical lifeforms" that I put near the end of this chapter. I probably didn't even need to put it, but because it cropped in my mind out of nowhere anyway might as well throw that in. Also, it's nearly freaking 2 AM in my timezone by the time I finished writing this - I may do editing on this chapter later, or I may not.
> 
> On another note, I know the situation between Cetie and Hardy is _very_ serious, but for some reasons, I always have this mental image that their interactions would end up descending into sitcom-like bickering every time I put them in the same party. With Aldo as the unwilling buffer who has to keep both of them in line.
> 
> Anyway, COA and Cardinal Vestige-centric Mythos when???

**Author's Note:**

> I think this goes without saying but... please do not try to apply all sorts of examples involving the intrusion of privacy depicted in this fic in real life.
> 
> Anyway, thank you for everyone who took time to read and subscribed to this fic! I know I'm practically cooking this food for myself, but I'm glad if you have fun from this fic as well. <3


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